16th Amendment Artwork

"The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."

- 16th Amendment of the United States Constitution 

The 16th amendment is pretty self explanatory. Just for clarification though, the 16th amendment gives Congress the power to collect taxes on income without apportioning it among the states. The Sixteenth Amendment was passed in 1909 and ratified in 1913. Before the ratification of the amendment, Congress had passed The Income Tax Act of 1894 that tried to establish a 2% income tax on anyone earning over $4,000 in income. The Tax Act was challenged and taken to the U.S. Supreme Court where it was deemed unconstitutional, which is why the government had to pass this amendment. 

The first piece of media that I am introducing for the 16th amendment is from a neighboring blogger of blogger.com. The person's blog is Chico Town, and I ran across this image that read "1913. Worst. Year. Ever." Then ir went to listing the reasons for 1913 being such a horrible year. I found it funny and it refers to the 16th Amendment, however, not in the best light.

Chico Town

Blogger.com

Link to media: http://www.chicotown.com/labels/Federal%20Reserve.html

Reasons why:

1) The federal reserve was created 
2) The 16th amendment reinstated the federal income tax
3) the 17th amendment killed states rights with the direct election of senators and
4) President Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated. Wilson of course was the jackass who signed the federal reserve act into existence and he can directly be blamed for causing WWI and WWII


Oh yeah, plus 13 is an unlucky number

15th Amendment Artwork

For the 15th amendment I decided to choose an art piece that clearly expressed the meaning behind the amendment. Although the amendment is very simple, it was actually hard trying to find a piece that accurately defined the amendment. The piece I chose is a graphic design image, which has a voter button on it, people in the background, and interlocking hands. Starting with the interlocking hands, this image shows unity, which stems from equality. When unity is present, it is safe to say that everyone is equal, that is why they are united. The people in the background are two African Americans and one Caucasian. This also shows unity but more importantly that the African Americans can vote which was the goal of the 15th amendment; to give newly freed slaves the right to vote, presently, it gives all U.S. citizens the right to vote.

  Deviant Art

15th Amendment by Rouge11

Digital Art/Mixed Media

 Link to media: http://rouge11.deviantart.com/art/15th-Amendment-87439917

15th Amendment Video

"Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

- 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution

The 15th amendment was the last of the Reconstruction amendments, it was designed to close the last loophole in the establishment of civil rights for newly-freed black slaves. This loophole was the right to vote. The 15th amendment ensured that a person's race, color, or prior history as a slave could not be used to bar that person from voting. Even though it was a binding and legal affirmation, it had little practical effect for quite some time, as the Southern states found myriad ways to intimidate blacks to keep them from voting such as black codes and Jim Crow Laws. This is another amendment I find important because of my race and who I am. 

I decided to choose a video that dealt with voting because I find it to be a VERY IMPORTANT aspect of being a citizen of the United States and really any society/civilization that uses voting procedures. It is vital to get your opinion heard, and I believe everyone is subject to what they believe in; everyone should be given a chance to make it known what they want. Voting allows us to do that, in the sense of choosing our leaders and how we want America to be. This video is very humorous and entertaining while still clearly explaining and defining voting. I really enjoyed this video and hopefully you will as well. It even has Chris Mintz-Plasse, more commonly known as McLovin' from Superbad.

14th Amendment Artwork

I stumbled upon this piece of media, poster, on Flickr. I feel as though it obviously represents the 14th amendment. It says, "We Don't Do 'Less Equal'." I see that as someone taking a stance on their equality vs. the equality of others. We are all human, and we all should receive the same rights. Specifically when speaking of rights to being a naturalized citizen or a permanent resident, the 14th amendment came about and gave order to the dilemmas that were occurring. Around the time the 14th amendment was being written, freed black slaves were not given rights as citizens which made them 'less equal' then other members of society. I chose this poster because it simply gets the message of equality across, which I feel like the 14th amendment is strongly rooted on.

Flickr Media

By Hugh_Jack@ss

   Link to image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10267290@N04/3024714990/

14th Amendment Video

"Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."

- 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution

The purpose of the 14^th amendment, from my personal understanding, class, and our textbook was to give legal effect to the Civil Rights Bill of 1866. The goal of both of the 14^th amendment and the Civil Rights Bill were to put an end to the criminal black codes established under former rebel States (specifically southern states) that at the time was being administered by President Andrew Johnson. One thing that I think is important to note is that under the original Constitution, citizens of the United States were required to be first a citizen of some State - something newly emancipated citizens could not claim. This is why it was imperative for the first section to begin with a definition of citizenship so that no State could refuse recognition of newly freed slaves as U.S. citizens by withholding the right to protection of the laws in life, liberty or property in the courts as enjoyed by white citizens. As someone of African American descent, I find this amendment to be of great importance, because my relatives (even though now deceased) were able to have the right to be citizens; citizens with the rights that everyone else had.

Because the 14^th amendment goes hand in hand with Civil Rights (how it gave legal affect to the Civil Rights Bill of 1866) I decided to find a video that talked about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 14^th amendment gave way to this Act by stressing the importance of citizenship. I liked this video because it is student made and easy to understand while getting the essential details across.

13th Amendment Video

The following video I posted refers to the 13th amendment which is the abolishment of slavery. However, it delves into how slavery is still occurring all around the world. Even though the 13th amendment was ratified, slavery is still going on, this is one of the biggest concerns I have about the world today. Slavery should have ended a long time ago, and it makes me feel bad to know that there are children and adults suffering from this. Even though I feel so passionately about this, I still have a logical standpoint on it. Honestly, I don't think slavery will ever end; I think that it will always happen behind the scenes. Hopefully, we can continue to reduce the amount of slavery happening.

13th Amendment Artwork

"Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation"

 - 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution

The 13th amendment is one of the Civil War Amendments, along with amendments 14 and 15.  The 13th Amendment forbids involuntary service or slavery, unless that is a punishment given for a crime. To be clear, the 13th amendment didn't give slaves equal rights instantly, it did give them a basis for which they could base their fight for freedom off of. Up until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, segregation and degradation of the African-American race occurred in the masses, mainly in the South. The 13th amendment gave African American Civil Rights lawyers a legal basis in which to make their cases off of. In several court cases, it could be used as a justification for the defense. For example, The Scottsboro Boys case where racism took precedent over fact. As someone of African American descent, I find the 13th amendment to be a very important, because of this amendment I am a free citizen in the United States. I find this to be one of the several amendments that are extremely relevant to who I am as an American, yes all of the amendments are important, but some do not apply to everyone. 

Juneteenth

By Minute Man

The artwork for the 13th Amendment that I chose represents the "Juneteenth Day" which commemorated the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger came to Galveston, Texas and announced the end of the Civil War and freedom for black slaves. This is the first time that some slaves heard the news, and the first time it was delivered to all the people of Texas with the imprimatur of the Federal Government. However, it was not until the 13th Amendment was adopted in December 1865 that slavery was ended in all parts of the United States. Lastly, Juneteenth is actually a big deal and has become a day of remembrance to some families. Juneteenth continues to be highly revered in Texas, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date.